Ukraine Pleads for Air Defense as Russia Turns Sights on Lysychansk

(R–L) Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, Deputy Defence Minister Colonel General Gennady Zhidko, Chief of the Main personnel directorate of the Russian Defence Ministry Colonel General Viktor Goremykin, Chief of the Main operational directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Colonel General Sergei Rudskoy, are seen at a command post during an inspection of Russian troop units engaged in Ukraine-Russia conflict, in an unknown location, in this still image taken from video released on June 26, 2022. Russian Defence Ministry/Handout via Reuters

KYIV, Ukraine—Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on June 27 urged Western leaders to supply anti-aircraft defense systems to his embattled nation as Russian forces assaulted Lysychansk, the last big city still held by Ukrainian troops in eastern Luhansk Province.

As the leaders met, Russian forces were bombarding Lysychansk, the Kremlin’s immediate battlefield target following the fall of neighboring Sievierodonetsk over the weekend.